Sounds and Presets: 7 Best Free Native Instruments Reaktor Ensembles

Sounds and Presets: 7 Best Free Native Instruments Reaktor Ensembles

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With Native Instruments Reaktor 6 possibly going the way of the dodo, we thought we’d highlight the best free ensembles from the Reaktor community.

Do Native Instruments Reaktor ensembles count as sounds and presets? Well, when the cat’s away the mice will play. After the drama of Native Instruments possibly quiet firing Reaktor 6 in Komplete 15, I thought this would be a good time to highlight some of the reasons that Reaktor is still an amazing piece of software: free user ensembles.

Note that some of these ensembles are on the old side and may not work in some operating systems/versions of Reaktor.

John Squibb 4×4 Drone Thing V2

Reaktor was Native Instruments’ first product. Originally called Generator, it started the whole thing off in 1996 with a user-patchable modular environment for instruments and effects. Right from the start, it encouraged experimentation, with many of its most popular user-created ensembles – Reaktor-speak for an instrument of effect – being drone or generative synths.

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One of the more popular, modern drone synthesizers is 4×4 Drone Thing V2 by John Squibb. It features four banks of waveforms – two sine and two sawtooth – each with its own multimode filter and LFO. A mixer with panning controls completes the design. Simple yet very effective – and always beautiful.

James Peck VHS Audio Degradation Suite

In 2024 there are plenty of analog-style ways to degrade your audio, from saturators to cassette tape effects. One of the earliest – and still arguably the best – is VHS Audio Degradation Suite from James Peck. 

Native Instruments Reaktor VHS Audio Degradation Suite
Native Instruments Reaktor VHS Audio Degradation Suite · Source: Native Instruments

A free effect ensemble for Native Instruments Reaktor, VHS Audio Degradation Suite does pretty much what you expect it to: it makes your audio signal sound like it was recorded to an old VHS tape. No surprises there. But what is surprising is just how many controls you have access to here, from the expected like drive and flutter to the unexpected like chorus and microphone emulation. Incredible that this is free.

Cal Scott Alien Beatbox

Cal Scott likes working with Blocks, Reaktor’s Eurorack-like modular environment (as opposed to the under-the-hood modular environment for building new instruments and effects). His stuff tends towards the experimental and weird and Alien Beatbox is no exception.

Native Instruments Reaktor Alien Beatbox
Native Instruments Reaktor Alien Beatbox · Source: Native Instruments

A drum machine (actually a “Dual Vektor Drum Machine,” in Scott’s words), Alien Beatbox is full of randomness, generative alien properties and FM freakouts. This could make the start of a great IDM track or just let it run and enjoy the fun.

Doron Sadja FM Explorator

The general consensus seems to be that when it comes to FM, the more operators, the better. I tend to disagree. Some of my favorite FM synths have four operators but I also love a good 2-op synth, especially for making noise. Speaking of, meet FM Explorator by Doron Sadja.

Native Instruments Reaktor FM Explorator
Native Instruments Reaktor FM Explorator · Source: Native Instruments

A basic FM synth, FM Explorator achieves greatness with its combination of simplicity and weirdness thanks to the XY control, which sets the envelopes of the Carrior, Modulator, Filtor and Amplifior. “Each corner of the XY is assigned a certain ADSR value which you can set manually via the little numbers (top is A, next is D, next is S, bottom is R) – however, it’s much better to just click the button at each corner to generate a random ADSR value,” explains Sadja.

alt fidelity Inga Naïve Leveller

Based on our recommendations so far you would be forgiven for thinking that Reaktor user ensembles are all about the freaky deaky. While many are, it’s not exclusively weird. Some ensembles are the kind of instrument or effect you’d find in any run-of-the-mill DAW, like a compressor.

Native Instruments Reaktor Inga Naïve Leveller
Native Instruments Reaktor Inga Naïve Leveller · Source: Native Instruments

Inga Naïve Leveller by alt fidelity replicates the sound of old-school optical and Vari-Mu compressors, with a special emphasis on vocals and bass material. “If you set it up correctly it can sound anywhere from fast, aggressive and pumping to slow, smooth and leveling and everything in between,” says the developer.

Der Schimi Deep Channel One

Roland’s Space Echo RE-201 is one of the most famous delays ever made. You can never have too many tape delays, real or emulation, right?

Native Instruments Reaktor Deep Channel One
Native Instruments Reaktor Deep Channel One · Source: Native Instruments

Deep Channel One from Der Schimi uses the RE-201 as a starting point but takes things to, well, outer space with a number of useful additions, including two filter sections, three reverb algorithms, a noise section, wow and flutter and lots of modulation functionality.

Brett Lavallee Igraine’s Laboratory

Subtitled A Sci-Fi Adventure for Reaktor, Igraine’s Laboratory by Brett Lavallee is an ensemble of customized Blocks with one goal in mind: science-fiction soundscapes. “Simply press play and then listen to each of the snapshots in order to hear the sounds of this thrilling tale,” recommends Lavallee.

Native Instruments Reaktor Igraine’s Laboratory
Native Instruments Reaktor Igraine’s Laboratory · Source: Native Instruments

Listen to it as-is or input your own samples to generate your own sci-fi worlds.

Note that you’ll need a full version of Native Instruments Reaktor 6 to run these ensembles. For more great instruments and effects, check out the Reaktor User Community (link below).

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My John Smith is a seasoned technology writer with a passion for unraveling the complexities of the digital world. With a background in computer science and a keen interest in emerging trends, John has become a sought-after voice in translating intricate technological concepts into accessible and engaging articles.

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